Process of making surfacing material for roads and the like.



CALVERT R. HUNT, OF OSCEOLA, MISSOURI.

PROCESS OF MAKING SURFACING MATERIAL FOR ROADS AND THE LIKE.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I. (ALvnn'r It. IIUNT, a citizen of the I -nitedStates. residing at Osceola, in the county of St. (flair and State. ofMissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processesof Making Surfacing Material for Roads and the like, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to mate-rial for surfacing roads. making bricksand for other uses, and to the process of producing such material. andthe prime object of the invention is to produce. a material which can becompacted by rolling. tamping or otherwise, into a durable. waterproof.tough and tenacious, malleable aml homogeneous mass which will not creepor dry out and crack and crumble under extremes of temperature: andshall possess all of the desirable qualities of a good dirt road whenthe same is smooth. hard. dry and dustless; and shall not become muddyor slippery in wet and other inclement weather; or wash out unless theroad' is completely undermined.

Another object is to produce a material for surfacing and analogoususes. at a cost so low as to make its use practicable on country high'ays and roads.

More specifically, my object is to produce a thoroughly kneaded mixture,of any kind of soil. clay or other earthy material in its natural coldand damp or untreated state, and asphaltum or other binder. hot or cold,liquid. plastic or solidified: which has such affinity for the earthymaterial that the mixture when compacted. shall constitute a masspossessing the durable qualities above set forth.

It is a well known fact that the ideal road is a dirt road when dry.hard and smooth. but that such a road is objectionable because the earthhas little or no binding properties and hence becomes dusty under heavytraflic and muddy and full of rats in rainy weather. and of course wherefreezing weather follows rainy weather. such road sometimes becomesalmost impassable.

Various methods have been proposed and many patented. for producing asurfacing material having all of the desirable and none of theobjectionable features of a good dirt road. One of such methodscontemplates the use of ordinary soil or the like, mixed with a suitableheated liquid or plastic binder, but stipulates that the soil orSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 17', 1917.

chine with measured quantities of the in Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

Serial No. 149,694. i

the like must be thoroughly dried, heated and pulverized before. beingmixed with the binder. and that. the drying and heating operation mustbe performed as or almost simultaneously with the mixing of such driedand hot material with the hot binder, and one such patent of which Ihave knowledge, distinctly states that if the soil or the like, is coldand damp, the binder upon contact with such soil or the like, will chilland congeal and will not properly mix therewith.

I have discovered that a very durable paving or surfacing material, canbe pro 70 duced by taking ordinary earthy material when cold and damp asinits naturalstate, and kneading the same and a binder together. Thebinder thus treatedmay be of liquid, plastic or solidified character andeither hot or cold, such for example, as asphaltum or any equivalentthereof, and I have furthermore discovered that a kneaded mixture suchas that last mentioned. may be compacted into a dense. malleable, homogeneous roadway brick or slabpossessing all of the advantages ordesirable qualities hereinbefore enumerated.

In carrying out my process for producing material of the characterproposed, I'85 preferably employ a power driven machine for thoroughlykneading a binder and earthy material or a binder and earthy materialcontaining granular material, in natural condition. and forcomminutingthe ingredients of the homogeneous product.

I have found that to produce the best results. it is necessary to employearthy material or the like, and the binder, in predetermined relativeproportions. eighty six per cent. of the earthy material to fourteen percent. of the binder. being a good and economical proportion. andtherefore provide means for supplying the kneading magredientsmentioned, experience and tests determining the proportion ofingredients necessary to produce a mixture in which the binder is mostintimately and uniformly distributed.

The preferred plant for producing the. surfacing material. will consistof a motor vehicle equipped with a kneading machine and disintegrat-or.means for supplying measured quantities of earthy material or 110 thelike. to the kneading machine. means for supplying measured quantitiesof a binder to the kneading machine, means for transmitting power to thekneading and distintegrating machines, and means to effect the transferof the kneaded material from the kneading machine, to the disintegrator.The plant also contemplates the use of a conveyer for delivering thematerial discharged by the disintegrator, at a suitable point on theground, or into a bin or a vehicle by which it may be conveyed to thepoint of use. If the material is to be made into pavin slabs or bricks,it may pass from the disintegrator direct to a n1oldingmachine.

Preliminary to laying the paving or surfacing material, the road must orshould first be brought to the desired grade and compress-ed. Shouldthere be any surplus material scraped from the road in this operation,it can be used in the production of the paving or surfacing material. Itis preferable to avoid disturbing a road by plowing or harrowing it anymore than is necessaryto bring it to the proper grade, as such road willconstitute a splendid bed or foundation without expensive treatment,upon which the paving or surfacing material may be compacted. \Vhere anartificial bed or base is desired, it may be provided, the surfacingmaterial, can be laid and compacted with equal facility upon a naturalor artificial base or bed.

When the road has been brought to the desired grade, the surfacingmaterial is disposed thereon in an suitable manner, preferably by means0 dumping wagons. The material is then spread out over the road to therequired depth and-compacted b rolling or tamping, or in any othersuitable manner.'

Hydrated lime, in suitable proportion may be mixed with the earth. orearthy material or the like, to impart a toughening and hardening effectto the road. The hydrated lime has the property of facilitating themixing process as well as toughening and hardening the product, andshould be mixed with the cold soil or the like, prior to theintroduction of the binder, which may be employed in either a hot orcold condition, as in either condition, it will thoroughly impregnate orpermeate the mass as the same is kneaded or worked in the mixingoperation.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced amaterial possessing the desirable qualities set forth,

over which as a roadway, trafiic can pass the like,

use in surfacing roads,

It is to be understood that the term earthy 7 material is used in itsgeneric sense,'and means any earthy materlal capable of absorbinmoisture, and that. within the term granu ar material 1s comprehendedsilica,

crushed slag, Joplin grit and the like, which, when mixed with theearthy material and binder, tends to increase the durability andhardness of the product when compacted.

I claim:

1. The process of producing material for use insurfacing roads, makingbrick and the like, consisting in taking earthy material and kneading itin a cold and damp state with a binder until the mixture is susceptibleof being compacted into a" dense,

malleable and homogeneous mass.

The process of producing materialfor use in surfacing roads, makingterial in a cold and damp state and a binder having adhesive andwaterproof properties, and kneading the said ingredients thoroughlytogether, and then passing the mixture through a disintegrator -tocomminute the same.

3. The process of producing'materi'al for use in surfacing roads, makingbrick and consisting in taking earthy material and a cold solid binder,and crushing and kneading said material together until susceptible ofbeing compa'ctedinto' a dense, malleable and homogeneous mass.

4. The process of producing material for making brickand the like,consisting in taking cold and damp earthy material and a cold solidbinder possessing adhesive and water proof properties, and crushing andkneading said materials together until homogeneous, and than passing themixture through a disintegrator to comminute thesame.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

K. M. THORPE, G. Y. THORPE.

brick and the like, consisting in taking earthy ma

